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Friday, 21 August 2015

Contact Lenses could have Saved Irish Boy from Rugby Termination

By an unfortunate strike of fate, a 7 year old boy was
ceased to play rugby because of the sports goggles he wears. Ryan Totten, from
Colerane in county Antrim has already played rugby for his home town for 3
years. According to the experts, contact lenses could have saved him from exclusion.

According to the reports, Ryan wears sport goggles that meet
EU & British safety standards to improve his vision. However, sadly, as per
the IRFU rules (Irish Rugby Footbal Union) he was asked to leave the pitch due
to his eyewear that bans players to continue participating in the contest. Current IRFU rules state: “In the interest of
safety (of the player wearing the goggles and other players) and best practice,
the wearing of glasses or goggles when participating in the contact format of
rugby cannot be allowed.” The ban has left the boy embarrassed, upset
& disappointed.

While the fact is unclear,
what prevented the young sportsman to switch to contact lenses; optometrist
& chairman of BBR Optometry, Nicholas Rumney stated that contact lenses
could have been a better option. Commenting on BBC report that suggests that
Ryan is too young to wear contact lenses, he explained that there is no global
consensus on when to initiate contact lens wear. “There are no such age
barriers”; he emphasized.

President of the British Contact
Lens Association, Brian Tompkins, added: “While I’m not familiar with Ryan’s
specific eye care needs, a child of his age should be able to wear contact
lenses. I actually had two seven-year-olds in practice today for a contact lens
review.”

Totten- the school boy pleas IRFU to change its stance because the
forced prevention from playing Rugby for something he was made by God has left
him broken & immensely sad.

Mr Tompkins toldOT: “Any parent interested
in getting contact lenses for their child, should speak to their eye care
practitioner, who will be able to advise them if lenses are suitable for their
child and if so, fit the appropriate lens."